The idea of a bicycle junkyard appeals to me. Perhaps
that is strange, since I have spent many years on the
"pro" end of the bicycle market building frames, and
servicing racers and tourists. Most people who have once dealt
with the "pro" scene professionally, never want to turn
back. I don't know why that is - maybe it's an ego thing. Anyway,
I'm rather attracted to the other end. And the junkyard business
is the extreme other end.

Imagine having an acre or two of land covered with
bikes, frames, wheels, handlebar stems, derailleurs, and so
forth. Whenever anyone needed a wheel or any sort of bike part
that is not a shiny new one, they'd certainly come to you. There
wouldn't be all that much money in each sale. A good wheel for a
standard family-type bike would sell for only about fifteen
dollars. But, you may get many such sales per day.

Your inventory wouldn't cost very much. I speak from
some experience. I did set up a bicycle junkyard about eight or
ten years ago, but it was not my exclusive business. I also sold
new and used bikes, and repaired bikes. Still, the junkyard was
visible from the road, and that was all the advertising I needed!
Interestingly, it grew by itself. Many people came in who had
bikes they just wanted to give away. Someone had died, moved
away, or for one reason or another, here was a garage full of
bikes, there was a yard with a huge pile. All I needed to do was
come get the stuff. I found that a truck is a good idea. I used a
Japanese pickup truck at the time, and on more than one occasion,
I had to make five or even ten trips to get everything from one
donation!

When I first started the junkyard, I actually bought
collections of bicycle junk, but later on, that was not
necessary. My purchases were profitable. As an example, I would
purchase perhaps three small pickup loads for $100. They would be
mostly thin-tired ten speed bikes in broken condition. I might
end up with only twenty back wheels in good condition, but each
would sell for $10 or more. So I doubled my money just on the
wheels. But there were also six complete bikes which I could sell
for $25 each, and literally a hundred little parts and pieces,
each worth a few dollars. Altogether, I probably made $1000 for
each $100 I spent.

Of course it wasn't all smooth sailing. Some of the
wheels needed alignment, and the bikes needed repair. Parts do
sell better when they are cleaned up. And it takes a while to
realize your $1000 profit - you've got to wait until the
customers come in who need the things you have. But, if you
gather a large collection of such things, you'll have a large
clientele coming for them.

Treat your clientele well. I think the most important
factor in growing your business is to have a high ratio of
customers who go away satisfied. For instance, if you have more
people coming for steel handlebar stems and upright handlebars
than you can supply, get some new ones from a wholesaler. The
people who came to your junkyard are hoping for very low prices,
but if all you have is something new, at an average price,
they'll typically buy it, and be satisfied.

Also know that you'll get literally tons of stuff
you'll never sell. That means that before you start this
business, you had better be ready for it. Make sure your landlord
and the city zoning board know that you plan to fill the yard or
building with bike parts. Be ready to pay for runs to the city
dump to get rid of your excess "merchandise."

On the other hand, don't do your dump runs too soon.
You might think that 400 Huffy bicycle frames are too many, but
they do have a purpose. Let your piles of bicycle junk grow high,
and people will be more attracted to your collection, thinking it
is very large, and therefore you must have whatever they want.

Lots of children will be attracted. This can be good
or bad, depending on whether you like children. You can service
them like any paying customer, or discourage them by giving them
little of your time and interest. The choice is yours. Of course,
all the little ones will eventually grow in to adults, and you'll
want them to think of you as a nice guy at that time.

And speaking of attraction, you've got to be careful
that you don't let customers get hurt. The general public trusts
any professional setting way too much, in my opinion. They don't
realize how loose-around-the-edges a store can be. Don't let your
junkyard be one of those dangerous places. If you let them wander
among your junkyard, make sure that they cannot pull tall piles
of metally things down on themselves, or step on things which
could puncture through their sneakers. Also do something to
protect people from getting cut by sharp objects, even if is only
posting a blatant sign which tells of the dangers of wandering in
your junkyard unattended.

There is another approach. You can disassemble your
collection, and categorize and price everything individually. It
will be nice and neat, no one is likely to get hurt sorting among
the piles themselves, and you can generally charge a bit more for
something which is already cleaned and inspected. So with this
technique, you don't actually have a junkyard, but a
well-maintained collection of second-hand equipment.

Prices: You can charge up to two-thirds of the price
for which an item sells for new, as long as the item is in good
condition. You can charge way more than the price for which
something sells new, if that something is no longer available.

Alloy and the higher-quality parts for modern bikes
are hard to purchase at reasonable prices. However if you seek
these bikes out, on a one-by-one basis, they are available. Be
especially careful about purchasing stolen bikes however. Make
sure to document every purchase, and make a show of documenting
every purchase. You want any potential thieves to say, "That
dealer will turn you in if you try to bring a stolen bike
there."

A very good source for such bikes, if you have the
time, however, is yard sales.

One of the wonderful things about a bicycle junkyard
is that it is good advertising for any other bicycle-related
services you may want to offer. You can fix, sell and rent bikes
out of your junkyard. If you have a nice retail building, you can
even run a 'pro' shop right alongside your junkyard. I think
you'll find the junkyard is more profitable, however!

One last word about the junk business: It is very
environmentally-friendly. When you stop to think about how much
pollution and waste is involved in manufacturing new bikes and
parts, it is a grand idea to supply second-hand merchandise when
you can. Furthermore, the transportation for your second-hand
merchandise is usually no more than across town. With new bikes,
there is more waste and pollution as the bikes are transported by
train, truck and even oceanliner. And it is transported twice.
First, the raw materials have to be transported to the factory
where the bike is built. And do you know what else they do at
these factories? They surround new bikes with four or five pounds
of cardboard and plastic - more waste. If you decide to deal in
second-hand merchandise you can be proud of your low-impact
income!